1. Ash's Story (Part 10: Galar)

Chapter 58: Clear Skies and Heavy Fog

The road out of Circhester carried us back toward the Wild Area under a sky so clear it almost looked polished. After snow, fog, hot spring steam, and Melony's battlefield, the open blue above us felt like a door thrown wide.

Hammerlock Academy's next work notice arrived before noon. Rotom announced it with a cheerful buzz, and the assignment title made Alice look up before I even read it aloud.

"MCA Cargo," I said. "Flying-type Job. They need seven Flying-type Pokémon for cargo routes over the Wild Area."

Gloria stretched her arms behind her head. "After all that snow, a clear sky sounds wonderful."

"It sounds high," Helen said.

Pikachu shaded his eyes with one paw, "The sky is honest today, but it is still far away."

"That is probably the whole lesson," I said.

The MCA Cargo station stood near a wide stretch of grass where marked flight lanes crossed the Wild Area like invisible roads. Flags snapped from tall poles, and workers checked harnesses, cargo nets, and weather instruments beneath the clear afternoon sun.

A staff member greeted us with a tablet. "Hammerlock Academy group?"

"That is us," Alice said.

The staff member checked the list. "You are assigned with another student today. Megan should already be at the loading platform."

That made the situation simple before I could ask anything. Megan had the same assignment we did: school work, Pokémon Jobs, and the academy expecting students to learn from the world outside classrooms.

We found her beside a stack of light cargo crates, hair tied back and sleeves rolled neatly. A Pelipper stood near her, wearing an academy helper band rather than a permanent Trainer mark.

Megan waved when she saw us. "Good timing. MCA Cargo wants this route tested before the afternoon wind changes."

"You are assigned here too?" Alice asked.

Megan nodded. "Same school work. I drew Flying-type support today. I am borrowing this academy Pelipper for the job, and I am supposed to help coordinate weight balance."

"Then we are classmates with cargo," I said.

Megan laughed. "That sounds less glamorous than Contests, but maybe more useful."

The staff member explained the job clearly. MCA Cargo needed seven Flying-type Pokémon to move supplies across marked air lanes, not all by raw strength. Some would lift crates, some would stabilize lines, some would scout wind shifts, and some would guide the cargo down safely.

We registered Corviknight, Hawlucha, Charizard, Butterfree, Pink Butterfree, Mantine, and Megan's academy Pelipper. The staff member nodded at the list.

"Seven exactly. Clear weather gives good visibility, but it also means thermal currents form quickly over the open ground. Your task is not to fly fastest. Your task is to deliver cargo without shaking, dropping, overheating, or drifting outside the lane."

"That is a lot of ways to be wrong," Gloria said.

Megan tightened a strap around one cargo net. "That is why it is school work."

The first flight lane carried lightweight medical crates from one platform to another. Corviknight took the lead, not because it was the flashiest flyer, but because its steady wings made the lane feel calmer for everyone behind it.

Mantine worked lower, gliding above shallow water pockets and signaling where warm air rose. Butterfree and Pink Butterfree followed beside the cargo nets, using careful wingbeats to keep smaller crates from swaying.